Hotel Marketing Podcast Episode 231 – 5 Simple & Free Tests To Optimize Your Hotel Website

Welcome to episode 231 of the Hotel Marketing Podcast.  In this short fuze edition of the podcast, we are going to go over 5 easy tests that you can launch today (or tomorrow if you’re busy) and start seeing an improvement in your hotel’s online conversion rate.

Hotel Test #1: A/B Testing

Create a simple A/B or multivariate test using Google Optimize (while you still can, it goes away on September 30, 2023). These tests, can create small increases in your site conversion rate that build on each other to create a booking powerhouse. Just a few tests you can run at practically no cost via Optimize:

• Booking widget position
• Creative promotional panel designs
• Main navigation calls to action
• 1st visit pop-up calls to action
• more

Hotel Test #2: User Testing

Usertesting platforms, such as UserTesting.com, are fantastic tools to see exactly what your site visitors experience when deciding to make a booking. However, software is not needed here. Simply talking with your guests and shadowing them while they browse your site will lead to countless optimization opportunities and testing ideas.

Hotel Test #3: Heatmap and Scroll Maps

Heatmapping and Scrollmapping systems such as Microsoft Clarity, Crazy Egg, Hotjar and others are amazing tools to track user clicks and movements on your website and identify which areas are getting the most attention.

Hotel Test #4: Performance testing

Take off your marketer hat and put on your developer hat to test your site’s technical performance. An easy way to start is by simply right-clicking on your site in Chrom and choosing “inspect.” From there click on the Lighthouse tab and run a report to gain insights into how Google sees your site and specific issues that are preventing you from achieving the highest scores possible.

Hotel Test #5: Mobile First Thining and Testing

For most hoteliers upwards of 70% of web users are on mobile devices. Don’t let your head get stuck in your desktop, spend time browsing your site like a customer… on your phone. From there you can create tests and optimizations to maximize the ability for a guest to book direct on the device of their choice.

In conclusion, now is the perfect time to start with some simple tests to improve your hotel’s conversion rate. Starting simple now will lead to significantly improved performance by the end of the year.

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In The News:

Google Sunsetting Google Optimize

https://searchengineland.com/google-optimize-will-sunset-this-year-392004  https://support.google.com/optimize/answer/12979939?hl=en

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